Thursday, January 6, 2011

Machine Knit California Footies- free pattern

Who knew California could be so cold? I had some bulky boucle' yarn (acrylic) in my stash so decided to make my daughter some more footies to get her through the winter. The scans don't do them justice----they're really fluffy in person. Sorry, I lost the labels, but I'm pretty sure they were either Lion or Bernat brand. Probably purchased at JoAnn's or Michaels. If you'd like to try them, here's what I did for a size 6 women's foot. You would need to add/subtract stitches and rows for different sizes. They are super simple, from start to finish took about an hour. I used the purl side as the right side because the top cuff rolls slightly to the outside and the texture of the yarn hides the side seam. A little hard to seam with this yarn but when you do seam, the stitches nicely disappear. If you find it impossible because it breaks, use a matching color of smooth acrylic yarn and pull the seams tighter than normal so it disappears. 100% acrylic should not shrink in washer or dryer. Machine: BulkyGauge: 3 st and 4 rows to one inch, T6Yarn: Bulky boucle', just a few ounces main and contrast colors. One skein of each color should make a couple of pairs of footies. Directions: Cast on 32 stitches at T6, a few rows WY and 1 row ravel cord. Leave a 12” yarn tail for seaming. With Main yarn K6 R, transfer every other st to neighbor for a picot edge. Leave empty N in work. K 6 R , hang hem from first row. T10 K 1 R to seal hem.Ankle: T6 K 5 R.Heel: Set lever(s) on carriage to HOLD. Push all N left of zero all the way out. Short row down to 6 st and back out until all N are in work. (Pull out a needle closest to the carriage, knit across. No need to wrap. Repeat. Then knitting back in, put needle opposite the carriage back to work, knit to the other side. Repeat.) Pick up heel of adjacent stitch to prevent hole both sides.Foot: K 20R.Toe: Exactly like heel. Pick up heel of adjacent stitch to prevent hole both sides. Set carriage to N both sides.Knit 1 Row over all. Take stitches off on waste yarn.Finishing: Kitchener st the toe from the purl side and seam the side as flat as you can manage. Remove the ravel cord and waste yarn.Knit the other footie holding stitches on the opposite side. To have the carriage at the other side, K 6 Rows for the ankle.TIE: Ewrap over 3 N. T6, Knit 150 Rows, BO.Thread through the hem beginning and ending at front. Cinch if desired, tie bow. At first I thought I wanted an I cord for the tie, but it was a big bother knitting an I cord with this yarn. It kept getting stuck on gatepegs or dropping stitches. Doing 3 stitches in a plain stockinette was fine because it ends up looking like an I cord anyway. The tie is decorative, but also if the ankle of the footie is too loose, this will help them stay on.

Hope I've given you enough info to try a pair. Often it's a matter of knitting one and then adjusting stitches and rows to suit.